1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates in general to completing hydrocarbon production wells and more particularly, to systems and methods for performing functions within wells with a tool during coiled tubing operations.
2. Description of Related Art
Coiled tubing is being used with increasing frequency during hydrocarbon drilling and production operations. As an example, coiled tubing can be used to suspend and install electric submersible pumps or other downhole members within a subterranean well. During the running of the coiled tubing into the well, it may be desirable to perform certain operations that require a tool to be lowered into, and retrieved out of, the well. As an example, a brush or other cleaning tool may be lowered into and retrieved out of the well to perform cleaning operations. In other examples, bowl protectors are sometimes used to prevent damage to wellhead inner diameter surfaces, such as bore seal surfaces, as equipment passes through the wellhead. A bowl protector is a generally elongated sleeve-like element that traditionally is removed after drilling operations and prior to running casing or tubing into the well. However, removal of the bowl protector leaves the bore seal surfaces unprotected and thus highly vulnerable to damage by centralizers, coiled tubing, casing collars and other equipment that must pass through the wellhead after drilling operations. It is imperative that bore seal surfaces remain free of scars in order to be able to set the metal to metal, elastomeric, or other types of seals that are used to pack off the annular space within the wellhead. However, some current tools must be run at one of the ends of the coiled tubing, or before or after the coiled tubing operations are performed.
During coiled tubing operations, the coiled tubing cannot be rotated and therefore tools that require rotation, such as traditional tools used with common casing or tubulars, cannot be used with coiled tubing. In addition, coiled tubing is fed into the well as a continuous single member with no breaks or connections that could be used for attaching a tool.